MGI Folk Museum

Immigration - History and Origins

HISTORY & ORIGINS

History The introduction of Indian contractual workers by individual planters during the British period started between 1820 and early 1830s. Arrival registers of the Indian Immigration Archives (MGI) testify that labourers from the Indian Peninsula disembarked in Mauritius as from 1842 and originated from Colombo, Cochin, Pondicherry, Madras and Calcutta. These experimental importations of local planters were an evident means of overcoming the acute shortage of labour arising in the colony. Planters even urged the local authorities to officially import Indian labour on a large scale. Adrien d'Epinay, for example, expressed the views of the planters on this issue in a letter to the Colonial Government as early as 1828.

Uninterruptedly, Indian contractual labourers were introduced in Mauritius in small groups at the request of individual local planters.

How to find your ROOTS (Your Ancestors), PIO

How to find your ROOTS (Your Ancestors), PIO

The Immigrant Number is a sine qua non and one imperatively needs to possess it in order to begin any search and to obtain further information thereon.

The numbering system initially began as from 1843 but was only regularised in 1847. This process of allocating the Immigrant Number continued until 1910.

Searching for the Immigrant Number

PIO

Publications on Indentured Labour – Mauritius

Publications on Indentured Labour – Mauritius Bissoondoyal, U. and Servansing, S.B.C. (1986) *Indian labour Immigration, MGI, Moka, Mauritius Callikan-Proag, A. (1984) ‘La Representation des Immigrants Indiens dans Le Cerneen’ in U. Bissoondoyal, Indians Overseas: The Mauritian Experience*, MGI, Moka, Mauritius.
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Aapravasi Ghat - The Ancient Immigration Gateway to Mauritius

Aapravasi Ghat - The old Immigration Gateway to Mauritius.

Mahe de la Bourdonnais (The French Govenor who inroduced Indian Labour (Our Ancestor) to Mauritius)

Before the establishment of a Government Depot, several sites were rented from private individuals for sheltering arriving labourers. In February 1844, Mr. Charon let his store for that purpose and in the same month, the premises of Mrs. Rondeaux de Courcy in New Moka street were used as the Protector of Immigrants' Office and for the 'reception' of indentured labourers.

MGI Folk Museum - The Archives of Indian Immigration

MGI Folk Museum - The Archives of Indian Immigration
For Preserving Our Indian Immigration Heritage and For Educational Purpose

The Mahatma Gandhi Institute Indian Immigration Archives is undoubtedly the largest repository of documentation and photographic collection of the 19th century Indian villagers recruited for Mauritius. The Indian Immigration Archives has in its custody more than 2,000 volumes of original documents, which are of tremendous historical importance. These documents are more than 165 years old and include: the arrival registers of nearly half a million Indentured Immigrants between 1834 – 1913 embarked from the ports of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. Among these documents, there are Marriage Certificates (1850 – 1920), Contractual Engagement and Distribution (1842 – 1859), Correspondence and miscellaneous departmental records (1868 – 1920). The Museum also has a unique holding of 12, 5000 passport size photographs of Indian immigrants, including workers from other countries. The photographs were taken as from 1867 at the Immigration Office located at the landing place of Indentured Labourers at the Immigration Square.

MGI Folk Museum for Educational Purpose

MGI Folk Museum of Indian Immigration
For Preserving Our Indian Immigration Heritage and For Educational Purpose

Mrs S. Deerpalsingh , Curator , Office Tel: 403 2000 (Ext 2154) FREE Entrance

The Folk Museum of Indian Immigration located at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Moka, was inaugurated on 11th March 1991 by the Vice President of India, Shri Daya Shankar Sharma. It aims at collecting, preserving, restoring, promoting and disseminating the historic and cultural heritage of the Indian Immigrants. Through a permanent exhibition and display of archival documents, phases of the history of indentured labour, recruitment, voyage, disembarkation, settlement, social and religious life are highlighted.